Interesting engineering found on classics.

[johnfm]

Just saw this pic of the disc brake on the transmission of a BRM GP car.

First time I have seen something like this. Interesting solution.

[5Valve]

The technical name, given to it at the time was, "The Bacon Slicer"!

[fourfoldroot]

Photographed at Goodwood FOS. I have no idea what the thinking was behind this.

[Snowboy]

That looks like an Electrical Generator.
Some sort of early alternator would be my guess.

[tapkaJohnD]

A transmission brake was seen on early cars, often on the propshaft.

This may be the work of Stewart Tresilian, esp.if this was BRM P25.
See: http://members.madasafish.com/~d_hodgkinson/brmpeo...
(bottom of the page)

John

[jamesatcandsc]

fourfoldroot said:

Photographed at Goodwood FOS. I have no idea what the thinking was behind this.

That's the Lohner Porsche, with electric motors in the hubs. The first hybrid, from more than 100 years ago, and a fascinating vehicle. 'Engineering genius' is a phrase thrown around rather too lightly, but, given how long ago it was done, this car fits the bill nicely I reckon.

[Rumple]

jamesatcandsc said:

fourfoldroot said:

Photographed at Goodwood FOS. I have no idea what the thinking was behind this.

That's the Lohner Porsche, with electric motors in the hubs. The first hybrid, from more than 100 years ago, and a fascinating vehicle. 'Engineering genius' is a phrase thrown around rather too lightly, but, given how long ago it was done, this car fits the bill nicely I reckon.

Nice

[Flatinfourth]

Rumple said:

jamesatcandsc said:

fourfoldroot said:

Photographed at Goodwood FOS. I have no idea what the thinking was behind this.

That's the Lohner Porsche, with electric motors in the hubs. The first hybrid, from more than 100 years ago, and a fascinating vehicle. 'Engineering genius' is a phrase thrown around rather too lightly, but, given how long ago it was done, this car fits the bill nicely I reckon.

Nice

Nice indeed! The whole concept of having no drivetrain, no gearbox, and the potential for a decent amount of electric braking is astounding (don't know whether the car used it) All done eight years before the First World War.

I know that Citroen, in their wackiest phase 50 or so years later, did a similar kind of thing with hydraulics, having motors in the wheels. Derivatives of both these ideas have become commonplace on heavier vehicles

[chevronb37]

There was a mag article on the Lohner Porsche a year or two back. Revolutionary stuff from a drivetrain perspective but can you imagine the impact of 200kg of unsprung mass - the mind boggles...

Talking of engineering on classics, I saw something awesome at VSCC Prescott in August. A trader was selling a government dossier from the 1940s. It was a British investigation into the engineering of pre-war Mercedes and Auto Unions. It had fold-out technical drawings and they evidently had access to a lot of information about the racing campaigns, though I've no idea how it was obtained.

I am still absolutely devastated that I didn't buy it but it was £160 and I simply couldn't justify it.